Post by Heimdall on Jun 19, 2018 17:21:22 GMT

UserThe engram route is the best route for them to ensure you always come back to the fort,your little private space where its your story. It is the conveyor belt that feeds you into the story and progress of your fort. If you didnt have engram system you would visit the fort less for sure.

Brenon HolmesThis is one of the primary reasons we went in this direction.

Additionally, when you're out in the field we want to encourage people to be unified in their intent - finishing the mission. Revealing loot right away starts to put you into a different mindset - and we didn't really want to worry about people modifying loadouts mid-mission 😊.

UserI can agree during an open world mission, but I really believe loot drops from Stronghold bosses would be better off without this system. At that point you're not supposed to be in combat anymore, and revealing the drop immediately makes it that much more exciting.

Brenon HolmesYou're not wrong... But in order to equip some of that sexy loot, you need to be back at your Forge...

So, we streamline it a bit for you. After the reveal post mission, you know what you got and you can immediately go to the Forge to equip it 😊 (instead of knowing and being unable to equip it in the field)

UserDoes this apply for all loot, to include the top end gear? What about Jarra’s Wrath?

Brenon HolmesAll loot, we changed things a bit from last year based on what it was doing to the game loop (what I was getting into above 😊)

UserThanks for clarifying. Also...Random rolls/stats on identical pieces of gear? What can we do with dupes?

As an aside, the transparency and new vector on how you guys are gonna handle DLC and mtx has me super excited for Anthem! I look forward to no-life’ing!

Brenon HolmesWe'll be getting more into the details on this kind of stuff later on - I probably shouldn't say too much more on this right now 😊.

UserI am really disapointed with this choice.

Dropping an item directly from a fight makes you associate that fight with the item you just got, meaning you get exited about it and have a story to tell your friends.

Dropping an engram from it doesnt get you exited in the same way at all. And no one is going to tell storys about getting an engram. When you get back to base, maybe you have 3 engrams to decrypt, how do you know witch one you got from the stronghold boss and witch you got from a random white mob.

Having played other loot based games, the engram system really nueters the experience of getting loot drops.

Brenon HolmesSorry to hear that, there are a few differences in what we're doing - when you get the drop it tells you the rarity and the type of item you'll get.

So for example, if you kill something and it has a rare drop... when you pick it up you'll see that you're going to get a "Rare Assault Rifle". So there's a bit more information, which may partially address what you're getting at. 😊

UserSo it is actually more like an identification system? You know what kind of item you are getting, you just don't know the details about it?

If that is the case, it does change it a bit.

Brenon HolmesYeah, that's probably a better way of thinking about it. 😊

UserYou mentioned changing your loadout at the forge. Does this mean all weapon changes are locked in once the mission is underway, so you have to gameplan a little before heading out?

Brenon HolmesRight now, yes. 😊

UserCan't say that I hate the idea given a varied mission. Allows a coordinated group to excel on any given stronghold/mission.

Assuming there is some sort of stronghold/mission playlist in place, would the strider at the start of each mission allow for changing as well? I'd hate to be forced back to Fort Tarsis to re-gear.

UserGlad to see you back in action u/BrenonHolmes . As always, thanks for the info and comms!

UserThe engram route is the best route for them to ensure you always come back to the fort,your little private space where its your story. It is the conveyor belt that feeds you into the story and progress of your fort. If you didnt have engram system you would visit the fort less for sure.

Brenon HolmesThis is one of the primary reasons we went in this direction.

Nooooooooooooooooo!

Sigh. Why not let exploring your base and the engaging value of the story experience be the draw? Yes, yes, I know the haters are gonna say because the story sucks and they (Bioware) know it, but I don’t buy it. I mean, maybe they’re worried that Bioware non-rpg noobs won’t think to go back, but to use such a draconian method makes the cure worse than the disease.

I never needed to be forced back to base in DAI, because I fucking loved those places. I couldn’t wait to go back to see if Sera or Varric or The Iron Bull had something new to tell me, and even when they didn’t, I spent hours just climbing all over the place exploring Haven/Skyhold.

Same with ME.

Instead, just like that user said, they permanently dissociate the pride of accomplishment in getting the Ultra Rare after killing the big bad, and instead turn it into zillions of YT vids of people rolling 10 out of 10 useless pieces of gear and throwing their game console out a glass window without opening it first.

UserThe engram route is the best route for them to ensure you always come back to the fort,your little private space where its your story. It is the conveyor belt that feeds you into the story and progress of your fort. If you didnt have engram system you would visit the fort less for sure.

Brenon HolmesThis is one of the primary reasons we went in this direction.

Nooooooooooooooooo!

Sigh. Why not let exploring your base and the engaging value of the story experience be the draw? Yes, yes, I know the haters are gonna say because the story sucks and they (Bioware) know it, but I don’t buy it. I mean, maybe they’re worried that Bioware non-rpg noobs won’t think to go back, but to use such a draconian method makes the cure worse than the disease.

I never needed to be forced back to base in DAI, because I fucking loved those places. I couldn’t wait to go back to see if Sera or Varric or The Iron Bull had something new to tell me, and even when they didn’t, I spent hours just climbing all over the place exploring Haven/Skyhold.

Same with ME.

Instead, just like that user said, they permanently dissociate the pride of accomplishment in getting the Ultra Rare after killing the big bad, and instead turn it into zillions of YT vids of people rolling 10 out of 10 useless pieces of gear and throwing their game console out a glass window without opening it first.

Come on now it wouldn't be a Bioware game unless they screwed something up

Post by midnight tea on Jun 20, 2018 1:01:40 GMT

Come on now it wouldn't be a Bioware game unless they screwed something up

Though they really can't afford to screw up Anthem.

Since we didn't see the game yet I think it's too early to proclaim that they 'screwed something up' - and if they changed it from how it was before and built the game to be flexible, they can monitor how much people like/dislike certain things and address them accordingly.

“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”

Post by melbella on Jun 20, 2018 1:13:00 GMT

If done correctly,t hat COULD work out well. I mean, if your whole crew hears the same banter, you could all laugh together and share that moment. Even if with randos, it might be nice to know that others have that same comical/sad moment going on at the same time. Maybe.

This makes me wonder....can people at different stages of the main story play the same missions together? If I'm at point X in the game and Y has happened, can I still play with someone who hasn't had Y happen yet?

Also, what kind of save system is going to be in place? The game is online only so, are save slots only on the servers? One save per char only? Can you go back to an earlier point (not just reload of the last mission) and redo something you may have messed up?

Post by officerdonnz on Jun 20, 2018 1:16:38 GMT

Come on now it wouldn't be a Bioware game unless they screwed something up

Though they really can't afford to screw up Anthem.

Since we didn't see the game yet I think it's too early to proclaim that they 'screwed something up' - and if they changed it from how it was before and built the game to be flexible, they can monitor how much people like/dislike certain things and address them accordingly.

Post by PillarBiter on Jun 20, 2018 6:26:28 GMT

If done correctly,t hat COULD work out well. I mean, if your whole crew hears the same banter, you could all laugh together and share that moment. Even if with randos, it might be nice to know that others have that same comical/sad moment going on at the same time. Maybe.

This makes me wonder....can people at different stages of the main story play the same missions together? If I'm at point X in the game and Y has happened, can I still play with someone who hasn't had Y happen yet?

Also, what kind of save system is going to be in place? The game is online only so, are save slots only on the servers? One save per char only? Can you go back to an earlier point (not just reload of the last mission) and redo something you may have messed up?

Actually, your point makes me wonder another thing... what about spoilers? If people who are more advanced in the story can help out randos who haven't progressed beyond the currently played mission, and for example, during that mission one of your peoples dies, they can scream in advance what's going to happen to spoil it all.

Post by bshep on Jun 20, 2018 8:04:56 GMT

Can only speak from my experience in SWTOR but flashpoints were locked by level to avoid people from spoilering themselves before they progress in the story. However you could bypass that by grinding XP from enemies to level up and unlock the flashpoint before story progression send you there.

Post by PillarBiter on Jun 20, 2018 13:00:14 GMT

I had another thought (being bored at work currently will do that for ya).

They stated that if you join a mission partways through, you'll teleport to their current location.

How about this: When teleported, you always appear high in the sky/area, and you're launched towards the ground for a big superhero landing. That way, joining a party in progress will always drop you directly in the middle of the action and allows you to appear in style. Each javelin might have it's own superhero landing! Colossus does a huge nova groundpound. Storm rides the lightning. Ranger carpet bombs with missiles, etc. etc.

Post by SofaJockey on Jun 20, 2018 13:40:41 GMT

I had another thought (being bored at work currently will do that for ya).

Slacker.

Good idea about the arrival, I'll tweet that.

Done.

BSN BioWare forums @bsnforumsA suggestion: Can fast-travel/matchmaking place you in the sky/area ready for a superhero landing, please. So joining a party in progress (or fast-travelling) will always drop you immersively into the action in heroic style? @biomarkdarrah BrenonHolmes

Post by PillarBiter on Jun 20, 2018 13:57:46 GMT

I had another thought (being bored at work currently will do that for ya).

Slacker.

Good idea about the arrival, I'll tweet that.

Done.

BSN BioWare forums @bsnforumsA suggestion: Can fast-travel/matchmaking place you in the sky/area ready for a superhero landing, please. So joining a party in progress (or fast-travelling) will always drop you immersively into the action in heroic style? @biomarkdarrah BrenonHolmes

You're a pal.

I'm just coming off a couple of weeks of adrenaline-fueled crunching

Now that the projects are done I've got it more quiet agian, so I'm slacking like never before

Post by PapaCharlie9 on Jun 20, 2018 14:48:02 GMT

Okay, updates done. New items in Orange and testing some light re-organization...

I like the re-org. Loot needed it's own section.

Suggestion that might save you time: rather than coloring the entire addition, maybe just color a tag like [NEW] for each addition. Then we can search through the text with text search, rather than eyeballs, and find NEW for everything new, filtering then by color with eyeballs. Should also save alot of time for retiring older items, just delete the tag instead of uncoloring the whole text.

Post by Hrungr on Jun 20, 2018 15:01:37 GMT

Okay, updates done. New items in Orange and testing some light re-organization...

I like the re-org. Loot needed it's own section.

Suggestion that might save you time: rather than coloring the entire addition, maybe just color a tag like [NEW] for each addition. Then we can search through the text with text search, rather than eyeballs, and find NEW for everything new, filtering then by color with eyeballs. Should also save alot of time for retiring older items, just delete the tag instead of uncoloring the whole text.

Example

Instead of this:

You will be upgrade(s) for longer flight duration. [Source]

Do this:

[NEW] You will be upgrade(s) for longer flight duration. [Source]

Yeah, if people prefer a text search approach I can certainly do that!

Uncoloring the text isn't a huge deal though as there's a "Remove Formatting" button.

Post by PapaCharlie9 on Jun 21, 2018 2:59:42 GMT

Q: Cyphers/NPCs are influenced by your SP choices, but when playing in the shared world with friends (a mission), will your team hear/get the same reactions from the same NPCs, even if their SP choices were different?

A: No, each player gets customized NPC reactions to their SP choices, even in the shared world. So a reaction player A gets from an NPC might be hostile, but player B gets friendly, in that mission. "The mission is the same structure, but the flavoring around it will be different based on the choices that you made." -- Mike Gamble

Later on Mark Darrah confirms that "radio chatter" may differ for different players in the same moment of the same mission.

3:47 - (paraphrased)

Q: Is it basically impossible to spoil the story for your friends during a mission, because so much of the story juice is back in Tarsis?

A: "Yeah, that's exactly right." -- Mark Darrah

Side note: Mark Darrah said that in other Bioware games, people tended not to share their story experiences with friends because it's personal and they don't want to spoil? BSN must not have gotten the memo! I'm pretty sure I posted about every funny thing Sera did in DAI when it happened.

Post by midnight tea on Jun 21, 2018 3:11:45 GMT

Side note: Mark Darrah said that in other Bioware games, people tended not to share their story experiences with friends because it's personal and they don't want to spoil? BSN must not have gotten the memo! I'm pretty sure I posted about every funny thing Sera did in DAI when it happened.

Yea, but I'm fairly sure that we're the outliers. If I remember correctly only a fairly small % of players finish single-player campaigns, much less give a damn about the details.

“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”

Post by PapaCharlie9 on Jun 21, 2018 3:15:51 GMT

Side note: Mark Darrah said that in other Bioware games, people tended not to share their story experiences with friends because it's personal and they don't want to spoil? BSN must not have gotten the memo! I'm pretty sure I posted about every funny thing Sera did in DAI when it happened.

Yea, but I'm fairly sure that we're the outliers. If I remember correctly only a fairly small % of players finish single-player campaigns, much less give a damn about the details.

OH, I see, he was talking about his Twitter followers. Not real fans. Makes sense.